La Liga is seeking to replicate its success in North America in some of the most densely populated areas of the world.
The top-flight Spanish soccer league struck a 15-year agreement with Dubai-based esports and gaming company Galaxy Racer to grow the league’s presence and popularity in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.
- La Liga expects the pact to bring in $2.97 billion in revenue over the life of the contract.
- The 50-50 joint venture aims to grow La Liga’s popularity and engagement in the regions and will act as the league’s broadcast and media rights agency.
- La Liga said the areas collectively have more than 1.3 billion people under 30 — a key target demographic for the league.
Sports streamer DAZN announced Tuesday that it secured exclusive broadcast rights for Spanish women’s soccer’s La Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino in a five-year deal beginning with 2022-23.
The North America Blueprint
In 2018, the league launched La Liga North America, a 50-50 joint venture with Relevent Sports Group.
Last year, the venture landed the league’s two largest international media deals: an eight-year, $1.4 billion deal for U.S. rights with ESPN and a $560 million deal of the same length for Mexican and Central American rights with Televisa’s Sky Sports.
Many leagues are “reaching a ceiling in their growth at the domestic level, on the revenue side, and definitely on the TV rights side,” La Liga North America CEO Boris Gartner told Front Office Sports.
